We see news
clips of people burning American flags and shouting “Death to America.” We see people running through urban streets
seeking retribution against neighbors of a different religion or ethnicity. We see dead bodies in their own homes,
showing evidence of rage. And we wonder
what type of society brews up this toxic cocktail of violence and hate. It seems so distant from our lives. And then hate comes home.
On Passion
Sunday, April 13th, a man with a shotgun killed two people outside
the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, Kansas. He then proceeded to Village Shalom, an
assisted living center, where he killed a third person. It was quickly established that the gunman
was a white supremacist, a Klu Klux Klan member with a history of
anti-Semitism. This was no random act of
violence; it was a calculated attempt to rent asunder the fabric of our nation. This crime opened a door to a piece of our
national life that persists in spite of all our attempts to eradicate it or simply
deny it. This was hate coming home.
What can be
learned from this tragedy? First, it
should sober us up. We live in a nation
of enormous diversity. We have made good
progress in learning to appreciate and even celebrate the richness of our national
family. Having lived abroad for 10
years, I have seen countries adjusting to a type of diversity that became
common place in America a century ago.
We are much further along than many other countries, but we have not yet
arrived. We must still strive to carry
the journey further. We must resist any
attempt to turn back the clock on what we have accomplished; vigilance is still
necessary. To dismantle the safeguards
we have put in place would impoverish the lives of all of us.
Second, we
should be mindful that there are no “innocent” prejudicial or stereotyping
remarks. We have been reminded anew that
there is still hate in the homeland. We
must walk through our lives as if we were walking through a shop full of
crystal figurines sitting on glass shelves.
We want to be careful that we don’t set in process something we did not
intend. Remarks like “She hoards money
like a Jewish banker” or “He drinks like an Irishman” or “She dresses like
she’s still in the ‘hood” or “What a redneck”
may seem like harmless remarks; we’ve all heard them—maybe even said
them. The killings last Sunday remind us
that in a world where hate is always looking for the slightest license to
justify itself, we should tread carefully as we speak. The writer of the book of James warned of the
power of our words, writing “Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a
small spark. The tongue also is a fire,
a world of evil among the parts of the body [James 3:5b-6a].” The Apostle Paul cautioned us to be careful
as we speak, instructing us: “Let your conversation be always full of grace,
seasoned with salt [Col. 4:6].” Prejudicial
remarks never meet the standard of “full of grace, seasoned with salt.”
Lastly, it
is not lost on us that this killing took place on Passion Sunday. As Jesus reached the summit of the Mt. of Olives
and saw Jerusalem in all her splendor pulsing with the excitement of Passover
in the holy city, he knew the violence that waited in the wings, lamenting:
If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God. [Luke 19:42-44]
Jerusalem is
the world, and the world is Jerusalem.
As we wind down Holy Week and cannot help but anticipate Easter Sunday,
we can be hopeful; but we must not be naïve.
Jim Kelsey
Executive
Minister-American Baptist Churches of New York State
